In our original U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,590 issued on May 20, 1986, there is disclosed and claimed an integral mailing package intended for a variety of purposes, including the use of a return mailer envelope. While not confined thereto, the integral mailing package of our original '590 patent was generally intended for a variety of respective advertisers or purposes. The present invention constitutes an improvement thereon, is adaptable for either for a variety of advertisers or for a specific advertiser, and is especially intended to substantially improve the response rate.
In direct-mail advertising, the mailings usually involve relatively large outer envelopes with various "stuffers". These are commonly referred to as "junk mail". The envelopes provide little external surface for a quality message, and there is no effective space inside of the envelope. As a result, there is a strong tendency for the addressee to merely rip up or toss away the entire envelope without even opening the envelope, much less reading the contents thereof. The recipients may even tend to become irritated, and this is totally counter-productive.
The response rate for a typical mailer is fewer than 5%, and thus direct-mail advertisers have resorted to an assortment of "gimmicks" to improve readability and hence the response rate, recognizing how important it is to get people to just open the envelope. Some advertisers simulate United States Government mailings, as for example the Internal Revenue Service, to get the attention of the recipient. Others mimic private express courier services. Still others use a "blind" envelope bearing only the recipient's address. The use of first class postage envelopes in bold colors such as yellow, and tilted bulk-rate indicia have also been resorted to in an attempt to get the recipient's attention.
In many instances, the mailer includes an acceptance form or card provided along with a return mailer envelope. These mailers may be employed, for example, in the ordering of merchandise from an advertiser, or accepting the solicitation of a credit card from a financial institution. The acceptance form and envelope are usually stuffed inside of a large envelope along with a plurality of advertising sheets or promotional literature. The separate acceptance form and envelope, rather than a return post card, assures the security of the transaction from the customer's standpoint, since the customer's signature and sometimes the customer's credit card number are required. Unfortunately, however, these particular mailers still suffer from the relatively-poor response rate.
Others in the industry have resorted to the use of a return-mailer envelope having a tear-off tab along an edge thereof, wherein the envelope itself constitutes the original mailer and includes the acceptance form and promotional literature. The intent is to create an irresistible urge for the recipient to experience a sense of power or joy in opening the envelope.
All of these prior art methods still require the use of an external envelope, hence have met with only a modicum of commercial success.
These prior art devices are wasteful of advertising dollars and contribute to the relatively low response rate for direct-mail solicitations. Direct-mail advertising is a fast-growing multi-billion dollar a year business in the United States alone, and any improvement in the return rate will have a significant impact on the sales volume and profits of the advertisers.